Ken Phillips, the executive director of Independent Contractors Australia, has warned of the imminent ‘gutting of volunteer community work in Australia’ as a result of the introduction of the Federal Government’s national harmonisation of occupational health and safety laws.

 

Organisations including Scouts NSW and Meals on Wheels have expressed their concern over the introduction of the law, which they say will cost them additional funds to ensure all volunteers are complying with the new laws.

 

"Everyone is now exposed in a way that they have not been exposed in the past and the expectations on them now are to have the full resources around occupational health and safety (OHS) that you would expect of a government department, BHP, Coles Myer et cetera, et cetera,” Mr Phillips told the ABC.

 

"I've seen some stuff sent through to me today where people are saying, you know, the volunteer committee that manages [the] local scout hall, they're not going to let people use the scout hall for parties anymore because the volunteers could be held liable if there's an incident at the party."

 

Under the laws, organisations that employ both paid workers and volunteers will be legally obliged to extend similar obligations to volunteer workers. Those that are found to have breached the OH&S standards will be liable for penalties up to $300,000.

 

Safe Work Australia chair Tom Phillips was quick to express his concern over recent media report, which he labeled as ‘inaccurate and alarmist’.

 

“This isn’t new – this was the case even in the old state schemes and it makes sense. In three states and territories Queensland, the Northern Territory and the ACT, occupational health and safety legislation (OHS) already specifically applied to volunteers – this hasn’t changed. In all the other jurisdictions, the protections afforded by OHS legislation also applied to volunteers at workplaces,” said Mr Phillips.

 

Volunteering Australia CEO Cary Pedicini also expressed his support for the harmonisation of the laws.

 

“The harmonisation will mean a higher level of protection for volunteers applied consistently no matter where they volunteer. That is a good thing for volunteers. We will continue to work with Safe Work Australia to address any concerns that arise as we have done for the last twelve months,” said Mr Pedicini.